On Thu, 25 Sep 2003 04:42:55 -0400, Cub Driver
wrote:

Even the supersonic b.s. seems to be pretty well established--thus the
F-16 as the "successor" to the A-10. (The F-16's main virtue as a CAS
aircraft seems to be that it can fly supersonic if it's not carrying
any CAS stores

The F-16 is only a "successor" to the A-10 by default. The aircraft
was purchased as a successor to the F-4 for the ground attack mission.
The A-10 was purchased nearly simultaneously.

The F-16 is multi-mission capable, the Hog is single task. Which is
more economical in a shrinking budget environment?

There's really no such thing as a "CAS store"--a bomb is a bomb. You
could call the gun a CAS weapon and the Viper is very supersonic with
gun only. You could hang a Mk-80 series low-drag bomb on a pylon and
haul it supersonic (you'd probably damage the fins and tail cone, but
you could go fast.) The point is that while supersonic is an
interesting capability, it has little tactical application except for
maybe an interceptor getting to point of engagement quickly. The
advantage comes in the acceleration and g-sustainability at actual
operating speed.